Cylinder drain-valve.



No- 838,835. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906. F. ARMSTRONG.

I CYLINDER DRAIN VALVE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1906.

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No. 838,835. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

I P. ARMSTRONG.

CYLINDER DRAIN VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6. 1906.

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No. 838,835. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

P. ARMSTRONG.

CYLINDER DRAIN VALVE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1906.

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FRANK ARMSTRONG, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

CYLINDER DRAIN-VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 18, 1906.

Application filed August 6, 1906. Serial No. 329,419.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK ARMSTRONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and use.- ful Improvements in Draining -Valves for Steam-Cylinders and Means for Operating the Valve, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drain valve attachments for steam-engine cylinders, and pertains especially to the class of such valves having a piston operated by steam or air from the air or steam reservoirs of the engine.

The invention comprises one cylindrical piston-valve for each steam-cylinder of an engine, one four-way cock to control the element for operating the piston-valves jointly, and special pipe connections from the steam and air reservoirs of the engine through said cock to the piston-valves.

The object of the invention is to provide a drain-valve cylinder having a single or partitioned induction-port leading from the two drain-ports of an engine-cylinder, a piston operated in the valve-cylinder solely by either steam or air pressure from the engine and having two sets of ports, one of said sets receiving from said induction-port and the other of said sets discharging through the valve-cylinder.

The object, further, of the invention is to provide a drain-valve cylinder having a single induction-port connected to the dramports of an engine-cylinder and a s ngle exhaust-port, a hollow piston loose within the valve-cylinder and having ports certain of which register with said induction-port,wh1le the others register with the said exhaustort.

The object, still further, of the invention is to provide an arrangement of pipes connecting the drain-valve of the steam-cyhnder on each side of the engine with one and the same four-way cock located in the engine-cab for directing air or steam to the corresponding end of the drain-valve on opposite sides of the engine.

In the various devices for draining steamengine cylinders it is usual to attach a dramcock to each exhaust-port of the cylinder or to connect said ports independently with one drain-cock having spring-controlled pistons, to provide separate four-way cocks to control the passage of air or steam to the dra n-cocks separately, and to provide the drain-cocks cock, showing its pipes.

limited in its movement only by the ends of its inclosing cylinder.

Therefore it "is the purpose of this invention to overcome the various difliculties, objections, and disadvantages found in many of the devices for draining steam-engine cylinders, to obviate the use of certain cocks and valves heretofore employed, and to furnish a pair of drain-cocks one on each side of an engine and means to operate them simultaneously from the eng1ne-cab.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, Fi ure 1 is a sectional side elevation of part of a locomotive, showing the application of the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the drain-cylinder with the pipes partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the draincyl inder, showing its piston in elevation. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the piston. Fig. 5 is an end view of the four-way tion of the four-way cock. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the planeindicated by the dotted line as 0:, Fig. 6. Fig.8 is a sectional view on the line y y, Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 2 2, Fig; 3. Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the truck shown in 1. Fig. 11 in a top view of a modification. 12 is a section on the line 8 s, Fig. 11.

The same reference-numerals denote the same parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The engine-cylinders 1 have suitable drainpipes 2 leading therefrom and coupled by a pipe-union 3, screwed into a boss or projection 4 on the valve-cylinders 5. An induction-port 6 leads from the projection 4 into the cylinder 5, and the latter is provided with an exhaust-port 7. These ports have a partition 8, the inner edge of which forms a piston-bearing or bridge across the ports6 and 7 to prevent their obstructing the piston-packing. One end of the cylinder 5 is permanently closed, and the other end has a removable nut-cap 9, provided with an, abutment.-

ring 10 for one end of the cylinder-piston, (to a Fig. 6 is a cross-sec.

Fig.

be later described in detail,) the other end of the piston being provided with a central lug 12 to engage this end of the cylinder and leave a drain chamber 13 therebetween. Said chamber is provided with a drain-vent 14, and the other end chamber 39 of the cylinder is drained by means of the port 7, which slightly overreaches this end of the piston when the lug 12 on the other end engages its cylinder end. Each end of the cylinders 5 is provided with pipes 15, coupled together and to supply-pipes 16 in pairs, so that the correspondingends of the drain-cylinder-on both sides ofthe engine may be suppli'ed with steam orair'simultaneously. The pipes 16 are connected toa four-way cook 17, hereinafter to be described in detail.

The-piston 18 of the valve or drain cylin ders 5 is provided with packing-rings 19. It has a central cored or shell-like body 20, closed at each end toform a receiving-chamber 21, having a set of ports near each end thereof. One set 22 are inductionports, which conduct steam or air from the port 6 into the chamber-21, and the other set 23 are exhaustports, which conduct steam or air from the saidchamber to the port 7. The

iston 18 is of'such length with respect to-the ength of the cylinder that in its sliding movement the ports 23 are placed over or opposite theport 7 when the ports 22 are under or opposite the port 6.

The casing 24 of the cock 1.7 has an ex haust-port 25, an induction-port 26, to which is attached a supply-pipe 27, coupled to airorsteam pipes 28 and 29, respectively, havingcut-out cocks 30 and 31, and ports 32 and 33 have the pipes 16 attached thereto. The plug or'body 34 of the cock 17 has a pair of curved orsegmental openings there through, forming ports 35', which are made to registerwith the-ports in the casing by operating a suitable handle 36. The plug 34 is cushioned by means of a spiral spring 37, held in place by a screw-cap 38.

Itwill be observed that either steam or air pressure may be used independently, that freezing is entirely prevented, that the arrangement of the packing-rings so that one will be on each side of the port 6 when closed, which prevents escape of steam, that the travel of'the piston is governed entirely by length of cylinder, that the piston is operated solely by steam or air pressure, andthat when thepiston-ports and cylinderports register there is direct communication between the induction port 6 and the ex haust-port 7.

Referring to the modification shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the connecti0n40 of the valvecylinder 41 has a dividing-wall 42,

' -".orming two=separate induction-ports 43 and 44, having pipes 45. and: 46, respectively, which separately connect the ends of a steamenginecylinder-with thevalve-cylinder 41.

The dividing-wall 42 separates the steamcoming from the engine-cylinder. When the drain-valve is open, both drain-outlets of the engine-cylinder are in open communication with the valve-cylinder, and when said. valve is closed the steam in one end of the enginecylinders is separated from the steam in the other end of the engine-cylinder by the dividing wall 42, thus preventing passage of steam from one drain-port to the other of the engine-cylinder and forming a double induction-port having independent connections to. the respective drain-ports of the engine-cylind'ers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. In a draining-valve for steam-cylinders, the combination, with the valvecylinder having an induction-port and an exhaustport, and a connection between said induction-port and the drain-ports of the steamcylinder, of a chambered piston having an imperforate body portion, a series of ports in each end of the piston and forming the only means of communication with said chamber, and means for operating the piston to open and close communication between the said valvecylinder ports and the piston-ports.

2. In a draining-valve for steam-cylinders, the combination, with. the valve-cylinder having an induction-port and an exhaust. port, and a connection between said induction-port and the drain-ports of the steamcylindcr, of apiston having a hollow imperforate central body with the ports only at each end. thereof, and means for operating; the piston to close the said induction and exhaust ports and to establish communication between. the piston-ports and the said induction and exhaust ports.

3. In a draining-valvefor steam-cylinders,

the combination, with the valve-cylinder having an induction-port and an exhaustport, and independent connections between said induction-port and the drain-ports of the steam-cylinder, of a piston. having closedends each of which engage the ends of the valve-cylinder to limit the stroke of the piston and to leave a chamber between the ends of the piston and the ends of the cylinder, a chamber closed central of the piston and having a set of ports at each end, one set of which lead from the induction port of the valvecylinder into the chamber and the other set of which lead from the chamber-to the exhaust-port of the valve-cylinder.-

4. In a drain or relief valve for steam-cylinders, the combination, with the valve-cyl inder having a closed end, a removable screw-cap closing'the otherend and having an abutment-ring, an induction-port in thetop of the cylinder, anexhaust-port in the bearing bridge in these ports, of a piston having an imperforate hollow body provided with end ports leading therethrough to open and close communication between the said induction and exhaust ports, and means to operate the piston.

5. The combination, with a steam-valve cylinder having induction and exhaust ports, of a steam-controlled piston having a chamber provided with end ports and adapted to hold and to carry steam from the cylinder induction-port to the cylinder exhaust-port, and means for operating the piston.

6. The combination, with a steam-valve cylinder having induction and exhaust ports, of a steam-controlled piston having an imperi'orate chambered body adapted to alternately open and close said induction and eX- haust ports with respect to said chamber, and a set of ports at each end of said body to alternately open and close communication between the chamber and the said induction and exhaust ports.

7. In a drain or relief valve for steam-engine cylinders, the combination, with the valve-cylinder having a double inductionport, and an exhaust-port, and a se arate pipe connecting each part of the doub e port with the drain-ports of the engine-cylinder to prevent communication between said drainports, of a piston having a shell-like body provided with two sets of ports for opening and closing communication between the drainports and the said exhaust-port, and means to operate the piston.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses J. H. OHANEY, N. H. ROGERS. 

